What Will Xabi Alonso Change At Chelsea?

Real Madrid’s Spanish coach Xabi Alonso reacts during the Spanish Super Cup final football match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid at the King Abdullah Stadium in Jeddah on January 11, 2026. (Photo by Fadel SENNA / AFP via Getty Images)

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Last season was a big disappointment for Chelsea. While the Blues entered the 2025/26 campaign with high hopes after lifting the Club World Cup, the team failed to live up to expectations, floundering in the Premier League and going through three different managers in the space of only a few months.

Now, though, there is optimism that Xabi Alonso might be the man to turn things around. The Spaniard has agreed to take over this summer and will have more freedom than any of his predecessors to mould the Chelsea team in his own image.

That the Blues have managed to attract Alonso was surprising in the first place. The former midfielder had been strongly linked with Liverpool, a club he used to play for in his playing days. By the time Liverpool made its own managerial change, though, replacing Arne Slot with Andoni Iraola, Alonso was off the market. He’d already signed for Chelsea.

One might wonder why Alonso has taken a job with such a volatile club. Chelsea has spent a lot in the transfer market in recent times, but with no coherent strategy or plan. Every time the team on the pitch has taken a step forwards, it has been immediately followed by one, sometimes two, backwards.

Tactically, Alonso could be a good fit for the squad he will inherit as Chelsea boss. At Bayer Leverkusen where he won the Bundesliga title, the Spaniard used a 3-4-2-1 formation that might work well for the Blues and the players they already possess. For starters, Chelsea has top-level wing backs which are difficult to find at the top of the game.

Alonso’s biggest challenge will be overhauling the culture at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea’s transfer model has created the idea that it is a stepping stone to a higher level. Players don’t join Chelsea to win things, they join Chelsea to earn an opportunity to win things – see how Enzo Fernandez recently spoke about his desire to join Real Madrid.

Chelsea has wasted so much time, and money, over the last few seasons. It has signed countless players without any plan on how to use them and hired several managers without ever giving them the platform to succeed. It’s little wonder the Blues finished a lowly 10th in the Premier League table last season.

In Alonso, though, Chelsea has lured an elite-level manager with a point to prove after the way things ended for him at Real Madrid. This could be the start of a long overdue upswing for the club that surely underachieved more than any other in the Premier League last season.